


Ghosting

by stuck_inmyemophase



Category: Champions (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Psychological Torture, Trauma, so I tagged both, this can be either ship or platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:35:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28434009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stuck_inmyemophase/pseuds/stuck_inmyemophase
Summary: "Let me go," Sam sobbed. He clawed weakly at Miles' arms.Miles pulled Sam close to his chest. He leaned his forehead against the side of Sam's face, squeezing his eyes shut. Sam's body shook as he gulped in air, hot tears ran rivers down his cheeks and soaked into Miles' mask. He wrapped a hand around his wrist and tugged. Miles gripped him tighter. "Sam it'sokay," he promised. "It's okay it'sus."Sam's hands fell. "Let me go."---Panic uses Sam's fears to turn him against his own teammates.
Relationships: Sam Alexander & Kamala Khan & Miles Morales, Sam Alexander/Kamala Khan/Miles Morales
Comments: 5
Kudos: 22





	Ghosting

"It's just my luck," Sam said, scratching his chin, "that I get a spot, one single spot, in the _one_ place my helmet doesn't cover."

"Don't pick at it," Kamala said. "You'll only make it worse."

\---

A blue beam struck the ground by Ms. Marvel's feet. She stumbled backwards, striking her arms out and wobbling on her feet.

"Don't come any closer!"

She raised her hands in compliance. "Nova calm down!" she said, barely a crack in her voice, smooth and calm. "Panic's got in your head, that's all. It's not real-"

"Shut up!" his voice was full of pain. It had a crack, like a scratch at the back of his throat, like his throat was sore from screaming. He raised his palm towards her. The Nova force swirled up his arm and gathered over his hand, bunching and exploding over his palm, weaving through his fingers, jumping out at Ms. Marvel like a snake threatening to strike. It licked the air like fire. They all took a step back, she could hear the cackle from the Freelancers as Hulk and Viv busied them.

"Nova whatever you're seeing it's not-" Cyclops stepped forward, Nova swivelled to face him, raising to hands threateningly towards him. The sharp glow struck from his fingertips. "It's just us!"

The beam hit Cyclops hard in the chest. It raced towards him like an animal, tripping over itself to reach him and exploded on impact, scattering light. Scott rocketed back, falling flat on the ground several feet away. From behind her, Marvel could hear the Hulk curse "shit" and in his distraction be punched hard in the jaw.

"Don't lie to me!" Sam roared. "It's not you! You can't trick me!" He fired another blast as Cyclops pushed himself up. The teen groaned and hit the ground again.

"Nova stop" Ms. Marvel cried. Her shout cut through the air, throwing her forward with the force of it. She stopped still when Nova shot his arms towards her. He aimed for her, two hands pushed straight in front of him. Spiderman snatched his arm with a web.

"Nova," he said, "come on, man, you know us."

"No I don't!" Sam balled his hand into a fist, the Nova force lifted him from the ground and swirled menacingly around his figure. "You're not real!" he shouted. "You're clones! You can't trick me again!"

Sam ripped his hand away from the webbing and fired two blasts at Miles. The spider dodged both, his senses conflicted. Partly, they told him to run, to move, to fire back. But Nova shouldn't be a threat. Miles dove out of the way sooner than he even saw the blue beam. He could feel the heat of the blast near graze him and held his breath. Another blast fired close to his feet and he leapt to Kamala's side.

"We've got to do something."

She sucked in a breath. "Nova that's not true," Kamala said. "We're real, it's just Panic making you paranoid. _Listen_ -" Sam aimed an open fist at her. Miles gripped her arm, ready to pull her away.

"Don't lie," Sam spat. Cyclops had only a moment to stir before he leapt into action, thrown back into battle with the Freelancers. Kamala cursed them. She hated to admit they were smart, but she couldn't deny it. They were swamped. Her team was clearly overpowered, and by her own teammate. She felt sick at the thought of Panic in Sam's head, chasing his fears, picking at in his mind. She raised her hands again, palms open, taking a cautious step towards her friend. Miles clutched the edge of her sleeve.

"We're not clones," she said soothingly. "Listen to me, okay?" The Nova force continued to twist around Sam, almost cocooning him in a blue vortex, it spiked at her, crashing around Nova, pooling out of his eyes and sparking at his fingertips.

"Don't come any closer!"

"He's dangerous and delusional!" Hulk called. "Get his helmet!"

Sam exploded with rage.

The Nova force pulsed through his veins, rushing through his heart and his lungs, and bust out of his skin. It fired blindly. Sam screamed and the Nova force brighter. He swung his head around wildly, a white hot rage bubbled inside of him, boiling in his blood. He was surrounded, he knew, and they were all too close, he couldn't let them get near him. He hit someone square in the chest and they dropped, he shot at others attempting to flee, he fired at another in the sky but his pulse went right through her. The drumming in his ears drowned out their shouts. An escape, he needed an escape. His eyes took him to the sky. He readied another burst, feeling it churn inside of him, cluster in the tips of his fingers, clawing inside his skin, ready to erupt.

The Hulk barrelled into him, crashing them both into the ground. He pinned Nova down with both hands. In shock, the Nova force dispersed for a moment, shattering like glass and fading into nothing, but quickly streamed around Sam again.

The Freelancers chortled and cackled as they made their escape, Marvel groaned.

"Amadeus stop!" she cried. "You, Cyclops, Viv, go after the Freelancers. Make sure they don't hurt any more civilians."

"But-" Kamala would never have the luxury of knowing what the Hulk's argument was, because he was quickly and roughly blasted into the air with force that shook the ground. Kamala had to shield her eyes, not sure if the heat she felt from the blast was a trick of her mind or if Nova had really used so much power.

"Just go!" she ordered. "We're going to talk him down!"

She didn't bother watching them go, instead nodding sharply at Miles and turning back to her friend. Safely alone, she used his name.

"Sam," she said. He was picking himself up off the ground, slowly, with his legs shaking. He stood up wearily and planted his feet securely in the dirt.

"Don't come near me, clone!" he snapped. His anger was fading, bleeding into anxiety, and the Nova force responded. It melted around him, shielding him. His voice wavered. "You're not her, you're not!" he said. "Stop lying!"

Sam was the one to step back this time as Kamala approached. He couldn't allow himself to trust her. Not in the softness of her fingers, the watery concern behind her eyes, the familiar comfort in her voice. He saw her face distorted, just like his father's- his clone father's. Her top jaw twisted grotesquely to the side, her eyes bulging, her neck pulled and twisted and bent. But she wasn't contorted, she was Kamala, safe. Not safe, he couldn't trust her. He couldn't trust anyone. He had no way to know. How could he know?

"Stay away," he warned, but his threat was dampened by the fear in his voice. "You're here to kill me!" Not again. Please not again. He couldn't let this happen again. Tears pricked his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. "You're not Kamala," he said. "You're not!" The Nova force twisted around his fingers again. Kamala's eyes widened and she stumbled back, raising her forearms in an attempt to shield herself. Sam's blood drummed in his ears. He couldn't let this happen again.

In one instance his helmet was stuck with webbing and in another it was ripped from his head. He dropped to the ground but before he could lose his footing two strong arms wrapped themselves around him from behind. He watched his helmet fall some distance beside him, white webbing wrapped securely around it, he could hear a hollow clang on impact. He squeezed his eye shut and writhed, but Miles held firm. He clamped both his arms to his side, gripping Sam's shirt at the chest. Sam kicked and wriggled and squirmed. He threw his head back but Miles jerked his own out of the way. When he kicked, Miles wrapped his own leg around Sam's and pinned it down. When he cried, Miles held him tighter.

"Let me go," Sam sobbed. He clawed weakly at Miles' arms.

Miles pulled Sam close to his chest. He leaned his forehead against the side of Sam's face, squeezing his eyes shut. Sam's body shook as he gulped in air, hot tears ran rivers down his cheeks and soaked into Miles' mask. He wrapped a hand around his wrist and tugged. Miles gripped him tighter. "Sam it's _okay_ ," he promised. "It's okay it's _us_."

Sam's hands fell. "Let me go."

Kamala met them from the front and Sam was shrouded in warmth. She wrapped her arms around both of them. Sam stopped squirming, stopped kicking. Sam buried his face in her shoulder and cried.

"You're okay," she said. He believed her.

\---

Miles grabbed Sam by the waist and pulled him onto the couch. He forced his into his lap, wrapping his hands around his stomach. Sam yelped as he was thrown off balance and landed clumsily in Miles' lap, his elbow dug into his rib. Miles pressed his face into Sam's back.

"Get off!" Sam said, but there was no bite behind it. He twisted slightly, not able to move more than his arms and legs, and knocked Miles on the head.

Miles laughed, sending a soft vibration down Sam's spine. "Nope. Hugs."

"That's not fair," Sam whined. "You have super strength."

Kamala dropped down to their right and snaked her arm around Miles' back until it reached Sam's side. She tugged them both towards her. Miles laughed. He picked his legs up and rocked himself and Sam backwards. Sam bit back a grin. "No, not hugs!"

"Tough luck champ," she said. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Sam shifted. "About what?" he said quietly.

Kamala bit her lip. "Us all being clones out to steal your helmet is a pretty specific fear," she said. Sam pressed his mouth to a tight line, fidgeting with his fingers, he shrugged, stiff.

"We don't have to if you don't want to," Miles jumped in.

"But we're _always_ here to listen," Kamala added.

"Can we just watch a movie?" Sam asked. Miles gave him a quick squeeze and his shoulders relaxed.

At some point Sam had managed to wriggle out of Miles' lap and wedge himself between the two heroes. He found himself sinking into the couch, wrapped in warmth from all sides, two soft hands holding each of his. His helmet was resting on a table just out of view. He let go of his breath and smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> I did think of what might happen if Panic got to Sam. They could play on Sam's insecurity on everyone being smarter than him and while that would also be angsty as hell I went with this. I imagine the whole cloning his dad thing stuck with him, I mean, it must have been bloody traumatising.
> 
> I imagine there's always a tiny nagging bug at the back of his mind that he can't trust people.


End file.
